Checklist template

Cooling and reheating control for restaurants

A ready-to-use checklist with 109 items in 6 sections, covering Cooling methods, Time and temperature logs, Reheating, Equipment, Labelling, Corrective actions. Use it as-is in Bindy, or adapt it to your own standards in minutes.

  • 6 Sections
  • 109 Items
  • 91 Yes / No checks
  • 6 Scored ratings
  • 121 Points

Use this template How audits work

1. Cooling methods 20 items

  1. A written cooling procedure lists each food the kitchen cools (stocks, soups, sauces, braises, rice, beans, roasts) Yes / No 1 pt
  2. The procedure states the two cooling stages: 135°F (57°C) to 70°F (21°C) within 2 hours, then to 41°F (5°C) within 4 more hours, or the stricter limits of local regulation Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Thick foods such as chili, refried beans and rice are cooled in pans no deeper than 2 in (5 cm) Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Stocks and soups are cooled in an ice bath or with an ice wand, not left in the stock pot in the walk-in cooler Yes / No 1 pt
  5. The ice and water in an ice bath reach the level of the food in the container Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Food in an ice bath is stirred at the interval stated in the procedure Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Frozen ice wands are in the freezer and ready for use at the time of the visit Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Roasts and whole poultry are cut into portions no thicker than 4 in (10 cm) before cooling Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Recipes cooled with ice as an ingredient (stocks, soups) state the water held back and the weight of ice added Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Pans of cooling food are left uncovered or loosely covered until they reach 41°F (5°C) Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Pans of cooling food are placed in a single layer, not stacked on each other Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Cooling food is placed on the upper shelves of the walk-in cooler, above raw meat and poultry Yes / No 1 pt
  13. No hot food is left to cool at room temperature on a counter, a rack or the stove Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Cooling starts as soon as the food leaves cooking or hot holding Yes / No 1 pt
  15. The cooling procedure states the largest batch the blast chiller and the ice bath can each cool in time Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Cooked rice and pasta are spread on sheet pans or rinsed under cold running water to cool Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Foods prepared from room-temperature ingredients (tuna salad, cut melon, sliced tomatoes) are cooled to 41°F (5°C) within 4 hours Yes / No 1 pt
  18. A cook asked during the visit could state both cooling stages and their time limits Yes / No 1 pt
  19. Depth of the deepest pan of cooling food found (in or cm) Number
  20. Cooling methods seen in use during the visit Rating
    • Rapid methods used for every food 5 pts
    • Rapid methods used for most foods 3 pts
    • Food cooling in deep containers or at room temperature 1 pt

2. Time and temperature logs 19 items

  1. A cooling log is kept at the station where food is cooled Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Every batch on the prep lists of the last 7 days that needed cooling has an entry in the cooling log Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Each entry names the food Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Each entry states the quantity or the number of pans cooled Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Each entry records the time the food was at 135°F (57°C) and cooling began Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Each entry records the temperature at the 2-hour mark Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Each entry records the time the food reached 41°F (5°C) Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Each reading is initialed by the employee who took it Yes / No 1 pt
  9. The chef or kitchen manager signs the cooling log every day Yes / No 1 pt
  10. No entry of the last 7 days shows food above 70°F (21°C) at 2 hours without a recorded action Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Logged readings vary from batch to batch, with no sign of entries copied or filled in ahead of time Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Readings are taken in the center of the food at its thickest point Yes / No 1 pt
  13. The inspector's reading of a food being cooled agrees with the stage shown in the log Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Temperature of a food being cooled at the time of the visit (°F or °C) Number
  15. Minutes since that food left cooking or hot holding Number
  16. Food set to cool at closing has its final reading recorded by the closing or the opening manager Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Cooling logs are kept on site for the retention period set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Batches of the last 7 days with a missing reading Number
  19. Completeness of the cooling logs of the last 7 days Rating
    • Every batch fully logged 5 pts
    • Some readings missing 3 pts
    • Batches not logged 1 pt

3. Reheating 17 items

  1. Cooked and cooled food reheated for hot holding reaches 165°F (74°C) for 15 seconds Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Reheating to 165°F (74°C) is completed within 2 hours Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Commercially packaged ready-to-eat food (canned soup, precooked sausage) is heated to at least 135°F (57°C) before hot holding Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Food is reheated on the range, in an oven, a steamer or a microwave, never in a steam table, soup well or under a heat lamp Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Food reheated in a microwave is stirred, covered and left to stand 2 minutes before its temperature is taken Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Soups and sauces are stirred before the reheating temperature is taken Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Thick foods such as mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese are probed in several spots when reheated Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Reheating temperatures are recorded with the start time and the time 165°F (74°C) was reached Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Reheated food left after service is discarded, not cooled a second time Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Reheated food goes directly into hot holding at 135°F (57°C) or above Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Steam tables and soup wells are preheated before reheated food is placed in them Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Food is reheated in batches sized for the service period rather than all at opening Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Frozen cooked food (bagged soups, sauces) is thawed under refrigeration or reheated from frozen as the recipe states, never thawed on a counter Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Vacuum-bagged cooked food reheated in a water bath has its core temperature checked with a probe Yes / No 1 pt
  15. A cook asked during the visit could state the reheating temperature and its time limit Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Temperature of a food being reheated or just reheated (°F or °C) Number
  17. Reheating practice observed Rating
    • Correct equipment and temperatures checked 5 pts
    • Correct equipment but temperatures not checked 3 pts
    • Food reheated in holding equipment 1 pt

4. Equipment 19 items

  1. The blast chiller is working and reaches its set temperature Yes / No 1 pt
  2. The blast chiller is not loaded beyond its rated capacity per cycle Yes / No 1 pt
  3. The blast chiller is run in probe mode, with the probe in the thickest part of the food Yes / No 1 pt
  4. The walk-in cooler holds 41°F (5°C) or below with cooling food inside Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Walk-in cooler air temperature (°F or °C) Number
  6. Racks of cooling food do not block the evaporator fans of the walk-in cooler Yes / No 1 pt
  7. The evaporator of the walk-in cooler is free of ice build-up Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Enough 2 in (5 cm) pans are available for the largest batch on today's prep list Yes / No 1 pt
  9. The number of ice wands matches the number of stock pots cooled on a normal day Yes / No 1 pt
  10. The sink used for ice baths is cleaned and sanitized before each use Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Cooks asked said the ice machine has not run short of ice for ice baths in the last 30 days Yes / No 1 pt
  12. A thin-tip probe thermometer is available at each cooling and reheating station Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Thermometers are calibrated in ice water at the frequency set by company policy, with a record Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Date of the last thermometer calibration Date
  15. A thermometer checked in ice water during the visit read 32°F (0°C), within 2°F (1°C) Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Probe sanitizer wipes are stocked at the stations where temperatures are taken Yes / No 1 pt
  17. A timer is available at the cooling station to mark the 2-hour and 6-hour checks Yes / No 1 pt
  18. The steamer, oven or range used for reheating is in working order Yes / No 1 pt
  19. Capacity of cooling equipment for the volumes the kitchen produces Rating
    • Sufficient 5 pts
    • Tight at peak production 3 pts
    • Insufficient 1 pt

5. Labelling 17 items

  1. Each container of cooled food is labeled with the product name Yes / No 1 pt
  2. The label shows the date the food was cooked Yes / No 1 pt
  3. The label shows a use-by date within the shelf life set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  4. The label shows the initials of the employee who prepared the food Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Food still in the cooling process carries a tag showing the time cooling began Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Unlabeled containers of cooked food found in the walk-in cooler Number
  7. No cooled food past its use-by date was found Yes / No 1 pt
  8. A batch cooled again after a corrective reheat is marked as reheated once on its label Yes / No 1 pt
  9. All shifts use the same labeling system (day dots or printed labels) Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Cooked batches placed in the freezer show the freeze date and the original cook date Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Thawed batches are relabeled with the thaw date and the days of shelf life remaining Yes / No 1 pt
  12. A fresh batch is not poured onto an older batch of the same product Yes / No 1 pt
  13. A dish made from a cooled ingredient (soup from cooled stock) carries the use-by date of its oldest ingredient Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Reheated food in hot holding is marked with the time it was reheated or its discard time Yes / No 1 pt
  15. The use-by date on a batch counts from the day it was cooked, not from the day it finished cooling Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Labels and markers are stocked at the cooling station Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Labeling of cooled food in the walk-in cooler Rating
    • Every container fully labeled 5 pts
    • A few labels missing or incomplete 3 pts
    • Many containers unlabeled 1 pt

6. Corrective actions 17 items

  1. The written procedure states what to do when food is above 70°F (21°C) at 2 hours: reheat once to 165°F (74°C) and cool again, or discard Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Food that did not reach 41°F (5°C) within the total cooling time was discarded, as shown in the log Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Reheated food that did not reach 165°F (74°C) within 2 hours was discarded, as shown in the log Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Each out-of-limit entry of the last 30 days shows the action taken and who took it Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Batches discarded for a cooling or reheating failure are entered in the waste log with the reason Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Batches discarded for cooling or reheating failures in the last 30 days Number
  7. A cook asked during the visit could state what to do when the 2-hour reading is too high Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Cooks asked said they can discard a failed batch without waiting for a manager's approval Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Repeated failures on the same product led to a change of method, such as smaller batches or shallower pans Yes / No 1 pt
  10. A breakdown of the blast chiller or the walk-in cooler in the last 90 days has a repair request on file Yes / No 1 pt
  11. No repair request for cooling equipment has been open longer than the time set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Cooling and reheating findings from the last health department inspection have been corrected Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Date of the last health department inspection Date
  14. Employees who missed log entries were retrained, with a record Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Name of the chef or kitchen manager Short text
  16. Overall control of cooling and reheating Rating
    • Rapid methods, complete logs and recorded corrective actions 5 pts
    • Methods correct but logs incomplete 3 pts
    • Food cooled or reheated outside the limits with no action 1 pt
  17. Corrective actions required Comments

About this template

This checklist is part of the Bindy template library. Yes / No checks score 1 point when met; ratings score the points shown for each option. The overall score is the percentage of points earned, with N/A answers excluded. In Bindy you can add photos, assign corrective actions, require sign-off and compare results across sites.

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